Monday, August 12, 2024 / by Teresa DiPeso
Cape May's Top Restaurants: NJ Monthly 2024 Rankings
Here's what they had to say in their 2024 rankings, released just last week:
In dubbing itself “the nation’s oldest seashore resort,” the City of Cape May isn’t going overboard. Jersey’s southernmost beach town has drawn crowds since at least 1766, when the Philadelphia Gazette deemed it “a healthy place for sea bathing.” The restored Victorian architecture gives this National Historic Landmark town a charm like no other Shore destination.
Cape May is also one of the largest commercial fishing ports on the East Coast—a boon for local restaurants.
And there are plenty of local and delicious restaurants in Cape May, making it one of New Jersey Monthly‘s favorite restaurant towns in New Jersey. Here you’ll find everything from incredible seafood to high-end French cuisine to casual bites perfect to enjoy after a day at the beach.
Below are our top picks for the best restaurants in Cape May in alphabetical order.
Why should you trust this list? Put simply, New Jersey Monthly knows New Jersey’s dining scene. Our editors and restaurant critics spend endless amounts of time traversing the state to dine at all types of establishments, from fine-dining restaurants to pizza places, old favorites to new restaurants bringing their own flavor to New Jersey’s culinary scene.
(Note: Many restaurants in Cape May close for the winter. Some addresses are in West Cape May, Cape May Point or Rio Grande, a short drive from the heart of town.)
410 Bank Street
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Photo: Courtesy of 410 Bank Street/Nona Martin Photography
Part of the appeal of the restaurant, opened in 1984, is the sultry ambience, with slowly spinning ceiling fans and dignified servers, and the bewitching stroll through a tropical garden to reach the front door. The Caribbean and Southern menu has a touch of the French Quarter. BYO.
410 Bank Street, 609-884-2127
Beach Plum Farm Kitchen
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An assortment of Beach Plum Farm Kitchen’s savory dishes. Photo: Courtesy of Beach Plum Farm
The setting is as much a draw as the food, which is why Beach Plum made our 52 Things You Must Do in New Jersey list. The farm, part of Cape Resorts, supplies fruit and produce to the group’s restaurants, among them the Blue Pig, Ebbitt Room and Rusty Nail. Overnight stays at Beach Plum Farm give guests the opportunity to get hands-on with the food they eat. BYO or buy wine at the farm.
140 Stevens Street, West Cape May, 609-972-8070
Blue Pig Tavern
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Breakfast in Blue Pig Tavern’s light-filled dining room. Photo: Courtesy of Blue Pig Tavern
Named for an 1800s gambling parlor in the venerable Congress Hall Hotel, the Blue Pig serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch in a light-filled rustic dining room augmented with patio seating. The food is casual and largely American—at dinner, there’s meatloaf with mashed potatoes, fish & chips, burgers and pasta, as well as a kids’ menu.
200 Congress Place, 609-884-8422
Ebbitt Room
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A slightly charred lobster tail with a bright side salad. Photo: Courtesy of the Ebbitt Room/Cape Resorts
One of the leading spots for fine dining in downtown Cape May, just a block from the pedestrian mall in the renovated 1879 Virginia Hotel. Despite the hotel’s Victorian trappings, chef Jason Hanin’s American menu (dinner only) is contemporary—strong on fresh-caught seafood, with steaks and a vegetarian option. Every dish utilizes fresh produce and fruit from Cape Resorts’ Beach Plum Farm just down the road.
25 Jackson Street, 609-884-5700
Exit Zero Filling Station
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Photo: Courtesy of Exit Zero Filling Station
Jack Wright, a native Scotsman, grew up on curries. When a storefront next to his Exit Zero publishing company became available a few years ago, he turned it into a homey restaurant, Exit Zero Cookhouse. Today it has a new name, a liquor license and an all-American menu in addition to the popular old curries. No reservations taken.
10 Sunset Boulevard, 609-770-8479
Good Earth Organic Eatery
All eating regimens accommodated here. Virtually everything on the menu can be made gluten-free, and—apart from the scallop and fish entrées—nearly everything can be ordered vegan. Choose from soup, salads, flatbreads, pastas and more. BYO.
600 Park Boulevard, 609-898-6161
Iccara Italian Bistro
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Photo: Courtesy of Icarra/Florin Besa for Icarra LLC
Vincenzo Sanzone named his restaurant for the Sicilian town where he grew up and learned cooking from his grandmother. Iccara nowadays is called Carini, but the spirit of Nonna’s cooking lives on at Sanzone’s BYO. Not that Grandma necessarily made dishes as lavish as Sanzone’s lobster with shallots and mushrooms in tomato cream sauce with squid ink fettuccine. Or crab cakes with lemon beurre blanc risotto. Or filet mignon with shallot butter.
311 Mansion Street, 609-884-0200
The Lobster House
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Indulge in fresh lobster when you arrive to Cape May. Photo: Courtesy of the Lobster House
When you cross the bridge over Cape May Harbor, entering Cape May, the first big thing you come to is the Lobster House. It sits dockside on Fisherman’s Wharf, with its own fishing fleet supplying, among others, its huge seafood restaurant with full bar, its fish market and raw bar. Weather permitting, from May to October, one can also enjoy cocktails and light lunch or dinner on the deck of the 130-foot Schooner American, moored alongside. The restaurant and market are open 365 days a year. In our 2023 Jersey Choice Restaurant Poll, Lobster House was voted Best of the Best in South Jersey.
906 Schellengers Landing Road, 609-884-8296
[RELATED: The Best Restaurants in New Jersey]
Louisa’s Cafe
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The charming dining room at Louisa’s Photo: Courtesy of Louisa’s Cafe/Rachel McGinn
The simply prepared food and genuine hospitality have been winning loyalists since Louisa’s opened in 1980. The menu is limited to mostly seafood (with salads, soup, a few sides and one chicken dish). Desserts are a strong point, and portions (of everything) are generous. BYO.
104 Jackson Street, 609-884-5882
Lucky Bones Backwater Grille
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Photo: Courtesy of Lucky Bones Backwater Grille
The Craig family, owners of the nearby fine-dining Washington Inn and the Cape May Winery, saw an untapped market for high-quality, reasonably priced, family-friendly dining, and created the 150-seat Lucky Bones in 2006. Open year-round, it offers crisp brick-oven pizzas, crisp Buffalo wings, creamless clam chowder, steaks and chops, and a full bar. But seafood is Lucky Bones’s forte, as befits its perch at Cape May Harbor.
1200 Route 9, 609-884-2663
The Mad Batter
Pancakes, French toast and mimosas, thy name is Mad Batter. Ask anyone in line on a Sunday morning. But, in fairness, there is much more (like full-menu breakfasts, lunches and dinners) to this OG of Cape May’s ’70s revival, fueled by gingerbread-happy Baby Boomers. The Batter opened in ’76 in the Carroll Villa Hotel and has been booming ever since. Dinner is eclectic, from chorizo paella to Tuscan fettuccine. There’s a kids’ menu and, keeping up with the times, a gluten-free one as well.
19 Jackson Street, 609-884-5970
The Magnolia Room at the Chalfonte Hotel
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A fried chicken sandwich Photo: Courtesy of the Magnolia Room at the Chalfonte Hotel/Alexa Pfeiffer
Ninety-something cook Lucille Thompson followed in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother, both legends at the hotel, built in 1876, until retiring in 2020. The restaurant still serves Southern staples that reach deep into the Chalfonte’s history—including fried chicken.
301 Howard Street, 609-884-8409
Maison Bleue
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The fisherman’s eggs dish combines a poached hen egg with Prince Edward Island mussels in a tarragon cream sauce. Photo: Courtesy of Maison Bleue/Sandra Vizzone
French restaurants are a rarity in Cape May, making the experience at Maison Bleue feel somewhat exclusive without even trying. But despite all the date-impressing dishes you’ll find on the menu, the team here has managed to pull off a decidedly non-stuffy vibe. Executive chef Anthony Depasquale’s BYO menu cancans brilliantly between exquisite French dishes—the duck confit with port wine-cherry jam and cippolini is the single best version of the dish I have ever eaten—and perfectly executed classics. In early 2024, New Jersey Monthly named this spot one of the one of the best new restaurants in the Garden State. —Ryan Loughlin
311 Mansion Street, 609-435-5554
Mayer’s Tavern
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Start off your meal at Mayer’s Tavern with the fried scallops. Photo: Courtesy of Mayer’s Tavern
Once billed as among the best dive bars in America, Mayer’s reopened in 2018 under new ownership after a two-year renovation. Its attitude under chef/co-owner Alex Laudeman—her great-great-grandfather ran party boats in what became Cape May Harbor—brings to mind the old TV series Cheers. Kick back with a Dark ’n’ Stormy, margarita or rum and ginger beer, then dig into fried calamari, a cold shellfish tower or a burger with Dijon mayo. Arrive early to grab a table on the porch and revel in the sunset. —Lynn Martenstein
894 3rd Avenue, 609-435-5078
Peter Shields Inn & Restaurant
One of the grand dames of Cape May, the Inn, with its canopied porch and ocean view, is formal but friendly and old-school romantic. That holds when you sit down to dinner as well: Service is gracious and solicitous. Executive chef Keith Mitchell’s New American fine-dining menu is posh—generous in flavor and portion.
1301 Beach Avenue, 609-884-9090
Primal
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Photo: Courtesy of: Primal/Mia Chiarella
You wouldn’t expect to find a high-end steak house on the beach in Cape May. Nor would you likely know it’s next door to a century-old arcade. But Primal has become one of the hottest tickets in town, and for good reason. Primal’s decor is bold and modern, yet rustic, with a nod to Cape May’s seafaring past. The menu, dominated by steak and fish, is protein-centric, and though prices top out on the high side, the polished vibe is casual. —LM
406 Beach Avenue, 609-408-1933
The Rusty Nail
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Shrimp, oysters and clams at the Rusty Nail. Photo: Courtesy of the Rusty Nail/Cape Resorts
Breakfast, lunch and dinner at a reincarnated beach bar in sight of the beach is how the Rusty Nail hangs its hat. The surfer vibe holds at the outdoor fire pit in summer, and at the indoor fireplace when the weather cools. The fare is familiar—chili, chowder, quesadillas, burgers and wraps at lunch; all that plus stuffed flounder, chicken Parm and the like at dinner. Add specialty cocktails, wine, beer and Monday pig roasts in summer, and you’ve hit the nail on the head.
205 Beach Avenue, 609-884-0017
Tisha’s Fine Dining
Founded in 1988 in Wildwood by Letitia “Tisha” Negro, this BYO moved to Cape May in 1995 when Tisha’s son Paul and his wife, Jennifer, took over. They are still serving sophisticated dinners—grilled salmon and shrimp with Thai chili sauce; short rib Bolognese with pappardelle—in a gracious setting. Lunch ranges from a variety of burgers, po’ boys and wraps to salads and risottos.
322 Washington Street Mall, 609-884-9119
Washington Inn
Built in 1846, the stately home at the north end of town became an inn in 1940, but didn’t come into its own as a dining destination until the Craig family bought it in 1979. Mimi Wood, its chef since the mid-’90s, keeps the largely American menu upscale, as befits the setting, and modern—with several gluten-free options and one vegan option. The inn’s ace in the hole just might be its wine list, by far the most extensive in Cape May.
801 Washington Street, 609-884-5697
The YB
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Tuna poke crudo with black wasabi, wonton and pineapple. Photo: Courtesy of the YB//Elizebeth Unruh Studio
Opened in 2011 by Peter Karapanagiotis, YB serves contemporary American food. Unlimited brunch is served on weekends, followed by dinner service. Dinner options include crab cakes, tuna poke crudo, pork ribeye with a Riesling lemon cream sauce, and a deconstructed egg roll bowl. BYO.
314 Beach Avenue, 609-898-2009
